50 American Food Facts You Didn't Know

Find out what each state has on its plate.

Alabama: The official nut of Alabama is the pecan, which explains the popularity of comforting pecan pie in this southern state. It hosts a pecan festival every fall with country music, carnival rides, and a western show.

Alaska: This chilly state is more than frost and snow. Berries can often be foraged out in the nature, and wild Alaskan blueberries are more nutritious than common blueberries.

Arizona: Yuma County, Arizona, is the nation's winter lettuce capital, thanks to its 350 days of sunshine a year. This sunny county provides America with 90% of its leafy greens from November through March and hosts its own veggie festival called "Yuma Lettuce Days" every year.

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Arkansas: Prefer your veggies on the crispy side? The first fried dill pickle ever sold was at the Duchess Drive-In in Atkins, Arkansas, in 1963. If you're looking to try the original, you can get your fix at the Atkins Picklefest each May.

California: Rolling pastures and bright skies make for happy cows. The Golden State is the United States' #1 dairy producer, churning out tons of butter, milk, and, of course, ice cream each year. Better yet: 99% of California dairy farms are family owned!

Colorado: You've got the Rocky Mountain State to thank for your cookout favorite — the cheeseburger. Drive-in owner Louis E. Ballast trademarked the "cheeseburger" on March 5, 1935. He never formally enforced his trademark, and the Humpty Dumpty Barrel restaurant, where the cheeseburger was created, no longer stands, but you can find a stone carving on the side of the road that designates the site of its birth.

Connecticut: This state is for suckers. No, really — the lollypop was first invented in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1908 by George Smith, who enjoyed going to the races so much that he named his creation after a competitor of the time, a horse named Lolly Pop.

Delaware: In 2009, the country's first state declared peach pie its official dessert. The campaign was started by fifth and sixth graders who chose the dessert because of Delaware's peach farming history.

Florida: Guacamole fans, rejoice. The first avocado tree in the United States was planted in Florida in 1833, making taco night in American homes infinitely better since.

Georgia: Your PB&J wouldn't be quite the same without this state. Georgia is the number one peanut producer in the U.S., and half of its crop gets processed into peanut butter — creamy and crunchy.

Hawaii: Need your caffeine fix? Hawaii is the only U.S. state to grow coffee beans. The Kona region of the Big Island is home to 650-700 coffee farms alone and produces 3 million pounds of coffee beans each year.

Idaho: Yes, we want fries with that. While potatoes are grown in all 50 states of the U.S., Idaho remains the country's biggest producer, harvesting about 12 billion pounds annually.

Illinois: Chicago's famous deep-dish pizza isn't an Italian export, but rather an American original. Chicago restaurant Pizza Uno first created the dish in 1943, and it has become the city's most iconic food since.

Indiana: The Hoosier State is one of the country's biggest corn producers, harvesting over 1 billion bushels in 2013. The state takes great pride in its kernel production and even has a town named Popcorn.

Iowa: We have found your new vacation destination, ice cream lovers. Le Mars, Iowa, was deemed the "Ice Cream Capital of the World" in 1994, and produces more ice cream from a single company, Blue Bunny, than any other city in the world.

Kansas: This midwestern state harvests so much wheat in a year that its annual harvest could bake 36 billion loaves of bread — enough to feed the world's population for about two weeks.

Kentucky: This state's popular food export is no secret: Colonel Harland Sanders cooked the first batch of Kentucky Fried Chicken at Sanders Cafe in Corbin, Kentucky. The recipe has changed a few times over the years, and the first bucket of KFC chicken sold in 1957.

Louisiana: This state's flavors are so intricate that it has its own cuisine. Cajun food is derived from French-speaking Arcadian immigrants who came to Louisiana in the 18th century. It is known for its aromatic preparation of vegetables, rice, and seafood.

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Maine: Get your butter and bibs. Maine's lobster harvest hit an all-time high in 2013, with fishermen bringing in over 100 million pounds of the crustacean. Lobsters are harvested year round in Maine, despite extreme cold winter temperatures.

Maryland: Maine's not the only crustacean capital in the country. Maryland blue crabs are a classic Chesapeake delicacy that locals (and visitors!) enjoy steamed, sautéed, or mixed into soups and dips.

Massachusetts: It wouldn't be New England without a bowl of "chowdah," and Bay Staters take their soup so seriously that rumor has it that it's actually illegal to put tomatoes in New England clam chowder.

Michigan: If you've ever sipped a can of ginger ale to quell an upset stomach, you have this state to thank. The first soda — or "pop" — made in the country was Vernor's Ginger Ale in 1866.

Minnesota: Pass the bread basket! This midwestern state is nicknamed the "Bread and Butter State" because of its plentiful wheat fields and butter-making plants.

Mississippi:Sweet potatoes have been growing in the United States since before Columbus came over in 1492. Vardaman, Mississippi, is the Sweet Potato Capital of the World and hosts an annual sweet potato festival featuring a pie eating contest, live entertainment, and a Sweet Potato King & Queen competition.

Missouri: The St. Louis World's Fair in 1904 forever changed frozen dessert history when an ice cream vendor ran out of cups and asked a nearby waffle vendor to roll up some waffles, creating the first ice cream cones.

Montana: Vegetables can be pretty sweet. Montana is such a big producer of sugar beets — light brown beets that you can cook to create a molasses — that they're the mascot of Chinook High School.

Nebraska: Got steak? Nebraska's license plates in the 50's and 60's read "The Beef State" because beef is the state's single largest industry, boosting the state economy by $12.1 billion.

Nevada: If you're looking to get the biggest meal for your buck, a trip to Las Vegas will leave you with a full belly. The casino city is also known as the world capital of buffets, with about 50 total in the city and approximately 20 on the Strip alone.

New Hampshire: A visit to Stonyfield Farm in Londonderry, New Hampshire, can show you how yogurt and other dairy products are produced ethically. This organic, non-GMO company is the third most popular yogurt producer in the country, and you've probably spotted their products in your dairy aisle. Bonus: They'll even let you taste some free samples.

New Jersey: Need a french fry fix at 2 a.m.? No problem. New Jersey is known as the diner capital of the world thanks to the hundreds of greasy spoons within the Garden States borders. Estimates say there are approximately 525 statewide.

New Mexico: The chile pepper is the state vegetable of the Land of Enchantment. These spicy veggies go great in many New Mexican meals — just be sure not to rub your eyes after handling them.

New York: After a particularly picky customer at Moon's Lake House in Saratoga Springs, New York, complained about the thickness of his french fries in 1853, Chef George Crum sliced some potatoes paper thin, creating the first potato chips.

North Carolina: Pharmacist Caleb Davis Bradham invented Pepsi-Cola in New Bern, North Carolina, in 1867. Although now a beloved soft drink, Pepsi was originally touted as a healthy drink that aided in digestion.

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North Dakota: Nearly 90% of this rural state is farmland, making it the nation's leading producer of barley, lentils, canola, and more.

Ohio: Internationally recognized horticulturalist Alexander W. Livingston developed the Paragon tomato, the first commercially grown tomato, in 1870 in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, giving the town the title, "Birthplace of the Tomato."

Oklahoma: While it's considered a fruit pretty much everywhere else, the watermelon was declared the state vegetable of Oklahoma in 2007. Since watermelons come from cucumber and gourd families, the state decided that they should be considered vegetables.

Oregon: 99% of all hazelnuts in the U.S. are grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley, keeping the country's chocolate-hazelnut cravings completely satisfied.

Pennsylvania: The Philly Cheesesteak made its debut in 1930 when Pat Olivieri, a hot dog vendor, decided to put some beef on his grill and put it on a sandwich. Eventually Pat's King of Steaks opened and the cheesesteak's popularity skyrocketed.

Rhode Island: A cup of Joe isn't necessary to get your java fix in this state. Rhode Island adopted coffee milk as its state beverage in 1993. Similar to chocolate milk, the drink is made by mixing a sweet, concentrated coffee syrup with cold milk.

South Carolina: The first recorded effort to cultivate rice in the U.S. happened in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1685. Because of this historical connection to the grain, the state is sometimes called "The Rice State."

South Dakota: This state has maintained its culinary connection to native culture. Fry bread — the official state bread — has its origins in the Navajo tribe.

Tennessee: Originally developed as a snack sold to Appalachian coal miners, moon pies were first made in Chattanooga Bakery in Tennessee. The cookies are made with a marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers, dipped in chocolate.

Texas: This north-of-the-border state produces 1/3 of all the tortillas in the United States — they are a Tex-Mex staple, after all.

Utah: Approximately 2 billion cherries are grown in Utah annually, making it the official state fruit. After World War II, the Japanese also sent cherry trees to Utah as a sign of friendship.

Vermont: The state capital, Montpelier, is the single largest producer of maple syrup in the U.S. In 2013 alone, the syrup crop came in at 1,320,000 gallons, the largest in 70 years.

Virginia: This seaside state is known as the oyster capital of the east coast, thanks to its plentiful seafood yields. The world's only oyster museum is also located in Chincoteague Island, Virginia.

Washington: If every apple picked in Washington in a single year was placed side-by-side, they would circle around the earth 29 times. Even more impressive? Every apple in the state is hand-picked.

West Virginia: The calzone-esque pepperoni roll originated as a meal for West Virginian coal minors. They are made out of bread rolls with pepperoni and sometimes cheese baked into the middle.

Wisconsin: Home of the cheeseheads, Wisconsin produces more than 600 different varieties of cheese. Today the state is home to 11,000 dairy farms and more than 1.27 million cows.

Wyoming: Harkening back to its cowboy roots, Wyoming has its own type of feast: a milk can dinner. Vegetables, meat, and water or beer are placed in a 10-gallon milk can and then cooked over a fire for a couple hours.